Egbe Omo Ogbomoso reaffirms constitution, leadership

The Egbe Omo Ogbomoso Parapo Agbaye has rejected the reported dissolution of its Executive Committee by the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye, Orumogege III, describing the action as illegal and unconstitutional.

Rising from an emergency meeting held at the association’s secretariat in Ogbomoso, the group announced the suspension of Engineer Lanre Ogunwole as its president and appointed Alhaji Abdulrahim Adetayo Yusuf, a member of the Board of Trustees (BOT), as acting president.

The association stressed that it remains a registered legal entity with a ratified constitution and a duly recognized Board of Trustees, noting that its constitution was lodged with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in 2014 and reaffirmed by its General Congress in 2017.

In a communiqué issued after the meeting, the association insisted that the monarch, as the honorary grand patron of the group, lacks the constitutional authority to dissolve its elected executive or appoint a caretaker committee.

“It is ironic and unacceptable for an honorary grand patron of a registered organization to unilaterally dissolve its elected Executive Committee and appoint an illegal caretaker committee in its stead. Such an act is unknown to the constitution of Egbe Omo Ogbomoso Parapo Agbaye and cannot stand,” the statement read.

The group also faulted the Soun for failing to consult other traditional rulers in Ogbomoso who serve as life patrons of the association, including the Olugbon of Orile Igbon, the Onpetu of Ijeru, the Onikoyi of Ikoyi, the Aresadu of Iresaadu, and the Alajaawa of Ajaawa.

According to the body, the Soun’s action is “divisive” and risks polarizing the ancient city. It therefore urged all indigenes of Ogbomoso at home and in the diaspora to disregard the purported dissolution.

Signed by Yusuf and the Public Relations Officer, Comrade T. M. Balogun, the communiqué affirmed that the association remains “vibrant and alive with its elected Executive and living Board of Trustees, and will continue to exist in line with the dreams of our founding fathers.”